The Magic of Memory
by gallaghergirl09
Summary: After a flying lesson with Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle has an accident that leaves her with no memory of ever living in Ponyville! As Twilight struggles to remember the friends she knows she is supposed to love, Rainbow Dash struggles with the guilt of indirectly causing her flying buddy's accident. Will the magic of friendship prevail? (NOT shipping TS and RD)
1. Chapter 1

"Okay," Rainbow Dash said as she and Twilight Sparkle landed on a cloud. "That was great practice run, Twilight! You're getting really good on those wings."

"Thanks," Twilight replied. "It does help that I have the best flyer in all of Ponyville as my instructor." She smiled at her friend.

"Well, yeah. But that said, you still have raw ability of your own." She playfully shoved her friend in the shoulder. "It's natural, just because you have wings. I'm just being like Celestia was when you were starting to study magic: just tapping and helping along that ability."

"Huh. Never thought of it that way." Twilight looked off into the distance reflectively

"Hey, I bet you might even be good enough to beat me in a race, or at least have a fair shot." The blue mare stood. "Last one to Sweet Apple Acres buys cider?"

"You're on!" The young princess got up, and crouched to prepare for a running start.

"Bring it, Princess! On your mark, get set, go!" Both took off flying. Rainbow had an early lead, but as the race went on, Twilight began to gain on her. Once she had passed Dash, Twilight looked back to tease her friend a little bit, and saw- too late- the look of fear on Rainbow's face.

"Twilight, look out for that-" Twilight flew head-on into a tree on the outskirts of the Acres that she hadn't seen, and slumped onto the ground. "Tree." Rainbow landed next to Twilight to look her over. She was unconscious. "Twilight?" Rainbow nudged her. "Twilight, wake up!" No response. "HELP! SOMEPONY, ANYPONY, HELP!"


	2. Chapter 2

Big Macintosh, who had been in the fields and heard Rainbow Dash, ran over and helped take Twilight to the hospital. All four of Twilight and Rainbow's friends heard soon, and gathered outside her room, and talked to the doctor.

"How is she?" Applejack asked, with a concerned frown.

"Well," The doctor replied with as straight a face as he could muster. "She's still under, but she's stable. We won't be able to fully assess her condition until she wakes up."

"Does her family know yet?" Rarity asked, stepping forward.

"Yes." He nodded. "Her assistant, Spike, wrote them a while ago. Her brother and sister-in-law couldn't leave the Crystal Empire, but her parents should be on their way."

"Good." She nodded.

"Even though we don't know for certain yet, we should anticipate-" The doctor was cut off by a loud ripple of voices. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Twilight's parents came in the front door, followed by most of Ponyville, having heard that their resident princess had been injured.

"Your Highnesses!" The doctor exclaimed. "This is a surprise."

"We came as soon as my sister received Spike's letter." Luna explained as she and the others approached.

"How is she?" Celestia and Twilight Velvet asked in unison.

"She's stable, and will awake at any moment." The doctor explained, looking past the princesses to the crowd. "Is there any way we can keep this crowd to a minimum? The last thing Her Highness needs right now is the excitement of her whole town waiting to see her."

"Oh," Celestia turned to her sister. "Luna, would you get a few of our guards to handle crowd control?"

"Of course," The younger alicorn walked off.

"May we go in and see Twilight now?" Crescent Sparkle asked.

"Yes," The doctor stepped away from the door. "But only immediate family for now, please. We may be able to let others in once she has woken up and we have had the chance to examine her thoroughly." So Twilight's parents walked into their daughter's room.

They gently closed the door and went to Twilight's side. Twilight Velvet gently stroked her daughter's mane, just like she would when she was a filly and needed comforting.

"That's quite a bump." Crescent commented.

"It's understandable, from what we've heard about the accident." His wife agreed, not looking up. "I can't imagine why Twilight was so careless, though."

"I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation. Right now, what's important to me is that she's alright." He looked helplessly at his unconscious daughter.

"Of course." At that moment, Twilight Sparkle began to stir. "She's coming around."

"How are you feeling, Twily?" Crescent asked, stepping closer.

"My head hurts pretty bad, but other than that, I guess I'm ok." Twilight Sparkle started to sit up a bit and rub her head. "What happened?"

"You hit your head when you were flying earlier." Her father explained, putting a hoof on her shoulder.

"Flying? But, I don't have wings." Twilight then had a double take as she felt her wings, and lifted them to look at them. "Since when do I have wings?!"

"Since your coronation, dear…" Her mother and father shared a concerned look. Didn't she remember? Crescent left to get the doctor.

"My coronation?" Twilight looked around. "Where are we, even? This doesn't look like Canterlot General."

"We're in Ponyville. You've lived here for almost four years." Twilight Velvet explained.

"Ponyville? Four _years?_" Twilight's eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets. The doctor walked in, and Twilight's parents walked over to talk to him. Soon, they walked back to Twilight's bedside.

"Mom…? What's going on?" She looked between both her parents and the doctor, confused.

"You must have some amnesia from your accident." The doctor explained, frowning. "I feared that might happen, with how hard you hit your head."

"How serious is it?" Twilight Velvet asked.

"It's hard to tell at this point." The doctor walked closer to the purple alicorn, looking closer at her head.

"How long will it last? Is there any way we can help her remember?" She put her hoof on her daughter's.

"Sometimes it's temporary." He turned towards the elder Twilight. "An event might trigger her memory, or it will gradually come back."

"But other times?" Crescent asked, stepping towards the doctor.

"The amnesia is irreversible, and the patient just has to settle with their new found life." Twilight gasped slightly at this.

"Don't worry, Twily," Her mother soothed. "We'll make sure that that doesn't happen. Is there any way to jump start things?"

"Once she recovers from her injuries – the extent of which I will find out once we're done speaking – " He lowered his glasses. "It would be best if you helped Her Highness get back into a normal routine, gradually. Maybe arrange get-togethers with her friends."

"Friends?" Twilight asked.

"Oh yes!" Twilight Velvet said. "You have several friends here in Ponyville. I know that after all you've been through together, getting your memory back will be simple."

"Yes." The doctor added. "Support from friends and family is the best thing for Twilight right now. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to examine Twilight now."

"Of course." Twilight's parents began to walk out of the room. "We'll be just outside if you need us, Twilight."

"Alright." She gave a half-hearted smile.


	3. Chapter 3

"So?" Applejack asked once Twilight's parents had come out of the room. "What's wrong?"

"Can _we_ see Twilight now?" Fluttershy asked quietly.

"Well," Crescent started awkwardly. "It's a bit complicated."

"How so?" Rainbow Dash asked, the first thing she had said since Twilight was admitted.

"She has amnesia." He admitted reluctantly.

"WHAT?!" All seven of the ponies who were outside exclaimed.

"Her head got pretty banged up. She doesn't remember her coronation, or living in Ponyville." Crescent shook his head.

"So, she may not remember…" Pinkie started, her hoof on her chin in thought

"_Any _of us?" Rarity finished, frowning.


End file.
